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Alan Holtham uses clever dowelling in this storage unit

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PLANING CUT SHEETS: Leave the now manageable pieces well over-length to allow for any veneer damage to be removed later

Plane up one long edge on each piece; it helps considerably if you plane two boards together as there is then much more support for the plane sole

To prevent any scooping keep the pressure on the rear of the planer as you reach the end of the cut...

...then cut the other edge parallel to the first one using a portable saw with the guide running along the planed edge. With a good-quality blade there should be no damage to the veneer on these long cuts

Repeat the planing procedure on the sawn edges, again putting two pieces together to produce perfectly matched boards

CROSSCUTTING VENEERED PANELS: The portable electric saw damages the veneer quite severely on crosscutting as we have already seen. A mitre saw with a good-quality blade is a better option and should leave one perfect face, but the underside will probably still rag although to a lesser degree

For a perfect cut on both faces, cut along the line with a sharp craft knife first, making sure you cut right through the decorative veneer then cut this on the mitre saw, pushing the blade in rather than pulling it out and with the scribed line uppermost

This project uses a lot of material and you will need six horizontal shelves, six tall uprights and four short uprights so there is a fair amount of cutting to do!

DOWELLING JIG: The jig for the dowelling is a simple homemade affair, consisting of a short board of MDF exactly the same width as the shelves, drilled at the required spacing. A locating batten is screwed to the underside to ensure that the jig lines up precisely every time

The jig must be securely clamped in place at all times, as even the smallest amount of movement will prevent the holes lining up properly and the joint from fitting together

DRILLING DOWEL HOLES: Use a proper lip-and-spur drill to produce a really clean hole, and improvise a depth stop by drilling through a short piece of wood

Drill each hole in turn to full depth, withdrawing the drill as it spins to clear the hole of swarf, and make sure you drill to the full depth of the stop

The holes for the internal dividers are drilled by moving the jig to the other end of each board so make sure it is aligned properly and clamped securely each time. Also remember that the holes are staggered on successive faces

Because the holes in the jig are drilled to allow the uprights to be inset slightly from the edge of the shelf, you need to cancel out this inset amount on the jig before you drill the uprights. Cut a thin strip equal to the inset amount and stick it to the face of the spacer batten...

...Now, when you clamp the jig over the end of the board the centre line should line up with the centre of the uprights

The uprights are all narrower than the horizontal shelves, so mark one edge as a reference to make sure you line up the jig with the same edge when you drill the other end. Cut a slightly shorter depth stop for the holes in the uprights so you can use a longer dowel for maximum strength

SELF ASSEMBLY: Use standard fluted dowels that allow the air to escape when they are covered in glue then pushed in place

Try a dry assembly at this stage to make sure everything lines up properly. Remember that the top and bottom shelves only need drilling on one face whereas the other four need drilling on two faces

BACK PANELS: While it is assembled and to save confusion later, mark out the position of the grooves to take the back panels

Because it needs to be a smooth sliding fit in the grooves, use a router bit that is fractionally wider than the back panel material; if the panels are really tight you will struggle at the assembly stage

Slide a back panel in place and mark out the required dimensions allowing for the depth of the grooves

NOW FOR THE LIPPINGS: For the lipping, machine a board of solid timber to be about 2mm thicker than the blockboard thickness and rip strips off the edge. Thickness these down to 3mm

Mark the exact length of each piece of lipping by scribing a line with a sharp knife

Apply plenty of glue to the lipping and slide backwards and forwards along the edge to make sure the glue is spread evenly

Clamp the lipping in place, trying, though this is not critical, to achieve the same amount of overhang from both faces

The ends of the horizontal shelves are lipped first and then the front lipping is applied to cover the ends of the side lippings

AND A LITTLE ROUTER WORK: When the glue has set, cut back the lippings using 3 the router and a small-radius rounding-over bit with a guide bearing

The overhang of the lipping will prevent the router base from seating square on the panels, so use some double-sided tape to stick a thin sub-base of about 4mm thick to half the router base

For the perfect accuracy required for a trimming job like this you also need a fine-height adjuster on the router

Set the depth of cut precisely, so that the lipping is radiused without damaging the panel veneer, and then trim all the panels

Make sure that the sub-base stays in contact with the panel at all times and does not ride up over the projecting lipping

Sand each panel very carefully using 180-grit pager on a random-orbit sander; take care at the edges

SAND AND FINISH: Apply the finish of your choice before the final assembly and then build up the finished projects in stages, allowing each shelf layer to dry before assembling the next

Storage is always at a premium in the living room and this makes a fantastic display unit for ornaments or books, and the open backis a real feature, particularly if you stand it against a dark wall.

There are several options for jointing up a project like this, the obvious ones being dowels or biscuits, but because the pattern of shelves and supports repeats on every piece, it seemed easier and quicker to make up a simple dowelling jig.

Veneered blockboard is very much stronger than MDF and also considerably lighter in weight, but it is more expensive and it also seems more difficult to cut across the grain without ragging. Because the 8 x 4 sheets are large and awkward to handle I lay them on the floor outside and then cut them up roughly to size using a portable electric saw.

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Glossary Rollover a term to view its definition

There are smaller machines that can only crosscut but the compound mitre saw is now a lot more common. It allows you to do compound as well as ordinary mitres. A compound mitre is one that is angles in both planes. Larger machines also have a pull-over feature whereby you can crosscut or mitre wide boards. The standard blade supplied usually has quite coarse teeth that may not be suitable for small components or fine work and it is wise to buy a more expensive fine tooth blade that you can fit when necessary. Proper work support is needed either side of the machine if you are cutting long boards such as skirtings.

Compound Mitre Saw

Most routers are plunge type, which means the motor body is plunged to allow the cutter to enter the workpiece and make the cut. There are a few fixed body types which are normally pushed into the work from the end of the workpiece as the cutter is already projecting beneath the baseplate. Routers use special high-speed carefully balanced motors that drive a spindle in which a collet is fitted at the bottom end. The spindle runs in special high-speed bearings and the collet can be interchanged depending on what cutter shank size is in use. A collet is different from a chuck in that it can only hold a specific shank diameter whereas a chuck can be adjusted to suit any diameter within its range. The collet is the most critical part and the best machines have much better more reliable collets. This is important as cutting speeds can be as high as 27,000 rpm depending on the cutter type and size. Routers work best with some means of guidance such as a fence or guide bush.

Router

A cutter with a bearing flush to the radius giving a smooth roundover. Considered to be a modern profile

Roundover Cutter

"Apply plenty of glue to the lipping and slide backwards and forwards along the edge to make sure the glue is spread evenly"